Ginger & James, our daughter and son-in-law, lost their power on the Pisgah Road Thursday in the early morning (around 1:00 a.m.). By 7 a.m. they were getting pretty cold, so called and arranged to come to our house as soon as they could pack up their perishables. By the time they arrived, we had lost our power, too, but Dennis had the generator running. James' brother, Joel and his wife Kim were in need of a warm place for themselves and their 10 month old daughter Kelsey, too. We invited them to join us and they arrived about noon time. So our cozy family grouping for the duration of the storm was established.
There are many things I was grateful for during the storm, but two are the continuous phone service and water. Being on town water meant that even without power we still had water. We were glad to be able to share it with others not so fortunate. At times the phone rang constantly, but having it meant that when Dennis was at home he could maintain contact with his office. We quickly learned through his office (the Maine National Guard/USPFO) how widespread and serious the situation was. The phone also allowed James to keep in touch with us from his job at Sears, which was without power but opened and served customers by flashlight so they could make available what they had for generators, batteries, flashlights and the like.
When Dennis and James were not working, they and Joel toted our generator and space heater to several friends' homes. They visited Ginger and James' house and heated it once a day, but by mid-week with temperatures dropping, they realized they could not keep the house above freezing. They had to drain the pipes and bring the cat to join their two dogs and goldfish that had come with them on Thursday. Joel & Kim also had a dog that was with us. They are Springer Spaniels and aside from being energetic, behaved as perfect ladies. I am thankful it was ice and not mud season, or they wouldn't have been so welcome.
As we are on the same circuit as the High School where the Shelter was, our power was restored by Sunday. But we only kept our power due to the assistance of our wonderful neighbors. The lone tree near our house is a triple Birch cluster that was no larger around than your wrist when we moved into the house in 1974. It is right beside our electrical, telephone and cable entrances. By Friday morning the birch was doubled over and had already lost two major limbs. A third limb was laying over those lines. James and Joel helped Dennis cut off as many of the ice-laden branches as possible to take some weight off. The limb raised briefly but by afternoon it had lowered again and was pulling the lines down. Our neighbors Steve & Beth Salois were out checking damage and stopped by. Steve said he thought he had the materials to prop the limb up. Shortly he and their sons returned carrying several 2x4's and bolts. They created a 26 ft. post that Steve and Dennis propped under the threatening limb to lift it off the wires. It saved the day (and our power)! By Saturdav afternoon, rising temperatures had melted enough ice for the limb to lift off the prop and wires. We are so thankful for their assistance.
George Coffin, an elderly "County" native that Dennis knew from his former banking days, lives on Greenwood Avenue. He joined us occasionally for meals and to keep warm until his power was restored. Kathy Adams came for showers and brought goodies--pizza for one night's dinner, breakfast bagels, the makings for our favorite, American Chop Suey. And at week's end a beautiful thank-you bouquet. We should have been giving one to her. We shared our generator with her to use at her father's home on Hanson Street, to run the sump pump, (a critical item, even in winter on this spring-laden side of town), until they were able to obtain one.
We discovered many little things that made a difference. We did a lot of cooking on the gas grill. We roasted a turkey breast, cooked spaghetti, and even baked corn bread and brownies. We have an old TV set that we do not use. It probably would have ended up in the next "Whale of a Sale" if it hadn't proved its worth. We set it up to run off the generator, and not only could we easily hook up rabbit ears to it, we could also get Channel 51 because it is a rotary dial with UHF. Which, by the way, was carrying a sports playoff that the younger people in the household were delighted to see. Channel 6 did much to keep everyone informed of what was happening around the state. It deserves all the recognition it has received.
It was delightful having the young people with us. It brought back memories of when the children were still at home. Our son Nathan, who lives in Bangor, even joined the party. He had an appointment in the area on Wednesday so arrived Tuesday and spent the night. (His apartment was without power for a week.) Not to put any pressure on my children, but having Kelsey around made me realize I am ready for grandchiIdren. Joel and family had their power restored on Wednesday after being with us for a week. Ginger and James were with us until Saturday, a total of 10 days. The house seemed too quiet after they all left. I, would you believe, even missed the dogs.